APPENDIX C

SKI DRILL

Section I. INDIVIDUAL DRILL

C-1. General
Ski drill and ski training should be given
concurrently. Ski drill is kept to the minimum
necessary for assembly, organization, instruc-
tion, and speedy reaction to commands. Only
those infantry drill movements in FM 22-5
which are easily performed on skis are used.
If weapon is included, it is either carried across
the back with the sling over the left shoulder,
butt at the right side, or attached to the ruck-
sack, if used. Before falling in for drill, skis
are strapped with running surfaces together,
tip to tip, using one strap to secure them tight-
ly together between the toe and heel section
of the bindings. Poles are interlaced by draw-
ing the shaft of one through the basket of the
other.
C-2. Fall In
The command is FALL IN. A normal in-
terval, 100 cm (40), is taken and skis are
held in the position of Order Skis.
C-3. Order Skis
(fig. C-1)
This is the position of attention with skis,
except during Inspection of Skis. The skis are
grasped with the right hand between the toe
and heel section of the binding and held in a
vertical position with the edges to the front.
The tips of the skis rest cm the ground, on line
with and touching the toe of the right boot.
The poles are held by placing the left hand
through both wrist straps and grasping both
handgrips. They are placed in a vertical posi-
tion with the baskets on line with and touch-
ing the left boot. Both elbows are held close
to the body.
C-4. At Ease and Rest
The same procedure is followed as in FM
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22-5, except that the skis take the place of the
rifle.
C-5. Facings
Facings are executed as prescribed in FM
22-5 except that the skis take the place of the
rifle. The ski poles are held in the left hand.
C-6 Hand Salute, Dismounted
At the position of Order or Right Shoulder
Skis, the salute is rendered in the same man-
ner as the rifle salute. To accomplish this, re-
lease the grip on the ski poles with the left
hand allowing the poles to hang from the
wrist while the salute is executed. Regrasp the
pole handles after execution of the salute.
C-7. Right Shoulder Skis
(fig. C-2)
This is a four count movement. Being at the
position of Order Skis, the command is RIGHT
SHOULDER SKIS. At the command SKIS, the
skis are lifted vertically until, the upper right
arm is horizontal. At the same time, the left
hand grasps the skis over the front edges and
approximately 30 cm (1) below the front of the
toe section of the binding. The ski poles remain
on the left wrist as the movement is executed.
(TWO) The right hand moves down and grasps
the skis over the front edges, midway between
the ski tips and the front of the toe section of
the binding. (THREE ) Skis are lowered so that
the balance point rests on the shoulder and the
skis are at an angle of approximately 45 to
the horizontal, with the right elbow close to the
side. (FOUR) The left arm is cut smartly back
to the side and the grip on the ski poles re-
sumed.
C-8. Order Skis from Right Shoulder Skis
This is a four count movement. The com-
mand is ORDER SKIS. At the command
SKIS, the left hand grasps the skis midway time, the left hand grasps the handgrips of the
between the toe section of the binding and the poles and is brought back to the left side.
right hand. The poles hang from the wrist by
the straps. (TWO) The skis are brought down C-9. Open and Close Ranks
until they are in a vertical position approxi-
mately 45 cm (18) from the ground. Same as FM 22-5 except that each rank
(THREE) The right hand grasps the skis over takes double the distance.
the rear edges between the toe and heel sec- For example:
tion of the bindings. (FOUR) The skis are a. Front rank takes 4 steps forward.
lowered gently to the ground. At the same b. Second rank takes 2 steps forward.
158 AGO 8641A
 c. Third rank stands fast.
d. Fourth rank takes 4 steps backwards.
C-10. Inspection Skis
Being at Order Skis, the command is IN-
SPECTION SKIS (fig. C-3). At the command
SKIS, the skis are unstrapped with the left
hand and the loose strap placed in the pocket.
The skis are separated and the position of at-
tention assumed, holding one ski in each hand
between the toe and heel section of the bind-
ings, running surfaces to the front and the tip
of each ski in line with and approximately 8 cm
(3) outside the toe of the corresponding boot.
The ski poles are placed in the snow beside
the left foot. After the inspecting officer has
examined the running surfaces, the skis are
rotated 180 to display the top surface. When
the inspecting officer has passed, the skis are
refastened and the position of Order Skis re-
sumed.
C-11. Ground Skis
This movement is done in 3 counts. Being at
Order Skis, the command is GROUND SKIS.
At the command SKIS, take two steps to the
rear, leaving the ski tips in place. Lower the
skis partially to the ground by sliding the right
hand toward the heels of the skis. (TWO)
The skis are then placed on the ground, on
edge. (THREE ) A position is taken driectly
to the left of the ski bindings, facing the tips
of the skis. The poles are placed on the left,
parallel to the skis, baskets to the rear, mid-
point of the shafts even with and close to the
left boot, The position of attention is then as-
sumed.
C-12. Take Skis From Ground Skis
The command is TAKE SKIS. At the com-
mand SKIS secure ski poles, reverse the three
movements of Ground Skis, and assume the
position of Order Skis. arated and the points placed in the ground on
each side of the ski heels, approximately 1
C-13. Stack Skis meter (3) apart. A V is made of the hand-
(fig. C-4) grips by interlacing each wrist strap over the
opposite handgrip and crossing the right pole
This movement is done in four counts. The in front of the left. The poles are then grasped
command is STACK SKIS. At the command with the right hand at the point where they
SKIS, the first two movements of Ground Skis intersect. (FOUR) The heels of the skis are
are executed. (THREE) The ski poles are sep- pcked up with the left hand and placed, edges
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up, running surfaces together, into the V-
formed by the handgrips. At the same time,
the poles are tilted forward so that they are
approximately 45 cm (18) from the ski heels.
This increases support. A position of attention
is then assumed beside the ski bindings, with
the stack to the right.
C-14. Take Skis from Stack Skis
The command is TAKE SKIS. At the com-
mand SKIS, the movements of Stack Skis are
reversed and the position of Order Skis as-
sumed.
C-15. Stack Equipment
With skis stacked, the command is STACK
EQUIPMENT. At the command EQUIP-
MENT, the pack is hung over the heels of the
skis by both shoulder straps with the body of
the pack to the right of the individual as he
faces to the rear. The rifle remains attached
to the pack when applicable or, when unat-
tached, it is also hung to the right, vertically
and with the receiver down. Any additional
equipment is hung in a similar manner.
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C-16. Take Equipment
The command is TAKE EQUIPMENT. At
the command EQUIPMENT, the rifle, pack,
and equipment are removed and a position of
attention resumed beside the skis.
C-17. Mount Skis
This movement is done in 5 counts. Being in
line at open ranks, the command is MOUNT
SKIS. At the command SKIS, the first three
movements of Ground Skis are executed.
(FOUR) The skis are straddled. (FIVE) The
skis are separated (from each other ) placed on
the ground axial the boots are secured to the
bindings. Poles are then separated and grasp-
ed with the left hand. The right hand is in-
serted up through the wrist strap from un-
derneath so that the wrist strap is around the
back of the wrist. Then the handgrip is
grasped. This procedure is repeated with the
left hand and the position of attention is as-
sumed. On skis this is as follows (fig. C-5):
a. Skis are parallel and approximately 8 cm
(3) apart, with the weight of the body evenly
on both skis.
b. Poles are placed vertically with each bas-
ket in line with, and touching the toe of, the
corresponding boot.
c. Elbows are close to the body, with the po-
sition of the hands dependent on the length
of the pole.
C-18. Dismount Skis
The command is DISMOUNT SKIS. At the
command SKIS, the movements of Mount Skis
are reversed and the position on Order Skis
assumed.
C-19. At Ease and Rest, Skis Mounted
When mounted on skis, the right ski must
be left in place when At Ease is given. At
Rest, both skis may be moved.
C-20. Hand Salute, Skis Mounted
(fig. C-6)
When mounted on skis, the hand salute is
rendered the same as prescribed in FM 22-5.
The right hand is removed from the wrist
strap if time permits. If time does not permit,
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the pole hangs from the wrist by the strap than a face to the left in marching. The in-
until after the salute is executed. terval is measured as described above. If it is
desired to straighten the ranks after ski in-
C-21. Ski Interval terval has been taken, the command AT SKI
(fig. C-7) INTERVAL, DRESS RIGHT DRESS is given.
Maneuvers on skis are done at ski interval.
If skis are already mounted, ski interval will
be taken by each individual when falling in,
unless otherwise specified. The ski interval is
approximately 3 meters (9) and is measured
by extending both the right arm and right-
ski pole and the left arm with the left pole
hanging from theorist. When skis are mount-
ed in ranks while at normal interval, the com-
mand is TAKE SKI INTERVAL TO THE
RIGHT (LEFT). On this command, interval
is taken as described in FM 22-5, except that
the step turn to the left is executed rather
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C-22. Right or Left Face
When mounted on skis, this movement is
executed in four counts. The command is
RIGHT FACE. At the command FACE, the
right ski is raised slightly and rotated 45 to
the right, using its heel as a pivot. (TWO) .
The left ski is moved alongside the right ski.
(THREE) The first movement is repeated.
(FOUR) The second movement is repeated.
Each ski pole is raised, moved, and placed
with the corresponding ski. Left Face is exe-
cuted in the same manner except the 450 move-
ment is made to the left with the left ski.
C-23. About Face
This movement is executed in four counts.
Section II. UNIT DRILL
C-24. Moving at Right Shoulder Skis
a. Drill. To move men out at right shoulder
skis, the preparatory command FORWARD is
given with sufficient pause before the comm-
and of execution MARCH to allow the men
to bring their poles up onto the left shoulder
and placed with baskets to the rear under the
skis (1, fig. C8). To move from Right
Shoulder Skis to Order Skis after halting, the
preparatory command ORDER is given with
sufficient pause before the command of execu-
tion SKIS to allow the men to bring their
poles down to the left side.
b. Marches. There are three methods of
carrying skis which may be used in marching,
their use depending on the length of march
and the type of terrain. If the march is rela-
tively short, at the command ROUTE STEP
the poles may be removed from under the skis
and brought down to the side at the discretion
of the individual. This enables him to rest or
warm his arm and hand or to use the poles
for support when climbing a slope. Skis may
also be alternately shifted from shoulder to
shoulder to reduce fatigue. At the command
SQUAD, PLATOON, or COMPANY ATTEN-
TION, the position of Right Shoulder Skis is
resumed with poles under the skis. Allow
sufficient time between the preparatory com-
mand and the command of execution for in-
dividuals to place the skis and poles in proper
position. For longer marches where the ter-
162
The command is ABOUT FACE. At the com-
mand FACE, the left pole is placed alongside
the left ski approximately 45 to 60 cm (18 to
24) in front of the toe. At the same time, the
right pole is placed alongside the right ski
approximate y 45 to 60 cm (18 to 24) in the
rear of the toe. (TWO) The right ski is raised
until it is perpendicular, with its heel alongside
the tip of the left ski. (THREE) Using the heel
as a pivot, the right ski is rotated and placed
alongside the right pole and pointing in the
opposite direction. (FOUR ) The left ski and
ski pole are then brought around simultane-
ously and the left ski placed in the new direc-
tion alongside the right ski, with the left ski
pole placed by the toe of the left foot.
rain is flat or rolling, the poles may be
strapped to the skis with the baskets over the
tips and the skis alternated between the right
and left shoulder to avoid fatigue (2, fig. C-8).
This method is valuable in cold weather, as it
enables the individual to alternate warming
of each hand by swinging it or placing it
under his outer clothing. For longer marches,
especially over steep terrain, the skis may be
tied to the rucksack. One is tied on each side
with the tips up and strapped together at the
top to form an A-shape (3, fig. C8). This
method allows the individual to use the poles
for additional support either together, in one
hand, or separately, one in each hand.
C-25. Flanking Movement From Normal
Interval
This movement is used when it is desired to
move men to the flanks when mounted on skis
at normal interval. The movement is done in
4 counts. The commands are to the RIGHT
(LEFT) FLANK AT INTERVAL, MARCH.
At the command MARCH, the right flank man
pivots on the heel of his right ski 45 to the
right and slides slightly forward on it. (TWO)
The left ski is brought up parallel to the right
ski, allowing this ski also to slide slightly for-
ward. (THREE ) The first movement is re-
peated. (FOUR) The second movement is re-
peated and a normal pace taken in the new
direction. As the right flank man takes his
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third step, the next man starts his first step.
This procedure is followed by each man in
line. When the last man has finished this
movement, the unit will be marching in the
new direction at ski intervals. Flanking to the
left is executed in the same manner, except
that the left flank man starts the movement
with his left foot.
C-26. Flanking Movement From Ski Interval
This movement is made by first commanding
RIGHT or LEFT FACE. When this facing
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has been completed the command FORWARD
MARCH is given.
C-27. Column Movement
When mounted on skis, the commands are
COLUMN RIGHT (LEFT), MARCH. At the
command MARCH, the leading man takes a
full step forward, then turns as in facing on
skis, except that at each step a short slide
forward is made. The fourth step is of full
length in the new direction. Succeeding men
follow in his trace. For COLUMN HALF
163
 RIGHT (HALF LEFT) the same procedure is
followed except that the second step is of full
length in the new direction.
C-28. To March to the Rear
For this movement, when mounted on skis,
three separate commands are given, allowing
each movement to be completed before the
next command is given. These commands in
order are HALT, ABOUT FACE, FORWARD
MARCH. The about face is executed as de-
scribed in paragraph C-23.

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164